1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a conveyor assembly and, more particularly, to a vehicular conveyor assembly which facilitates horizontal displacement of loaded pallets into and/or out of a vehicle, such as a delivery van.
2. Background Art
The utilization of pallets for product (e.g., raw materials, consumer goods, foods, etcetera) storage and transportation has been known in the art for years. In particular, a plurality of pallets loaded with product are normally transported from a first facility (e.g., manufacturing facility, warehouse, etcetera) to a second facility (e.g., distribution center, retail store, etcetera) via vehicular means. However, the plurality of pallets must first be loaded into the vehicle prior to being transported. Often times a first pallet is loaded into, for example, the back of a delivery vehicle using a forklift or hi-lo, and a second pallet is subsequently loaded into the back of the delivery vehicle which horizontally displaces the first pallet toward the front of the delivery vehicle. Frequently, a third pallet is subsequently loaded into the back of the delivery vehicle, which then horizontally displaces the first and second pallets toward the front of the delivery vehicle.
This process is repeated until the delivery vehicle is sufficiently loaded. To be sure, such a loading technique is replete with drawbacks including excess wear-and-tear and/or damage to the vehicle, pallets, and/or loaded product, as well as injury, amputation, and/or death to the user from, for example, unnecessarily hazardous exposure to pulleys, ropes, chains, etcetera. Moreover, precise, efficient, and accurate pallet placement within the delivery vehicle is extremely difficult to achieve using the traditional load-and-displace forklift methodology.
Once the plurality of pallets have been loaded and transported to a predetermined location/second facility, they are traditionally unloaded with the assistance of, for example, pallet pullers, ropes, and/or chains, which, similarly to loading the plurality of pallets, is replete with drawbacks including excess wear-and-tear and/or damage to the vehicle, pallets, and/or loaded product, as well as possible injury to the user.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a conveyor assembly for use with a vehicle which remedies one or more of the aforementioned drawbacks and/or complications associated with traditional assemblies and their associated methodologies used for loading and unloading palletized products.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims, and drawings.